Video – Page 6 – Journeys of a Hybrid

July 18, 2014

Another Year Gone By

When I was a kid, my year would begin and end around the school calendar – essentially September to June. Summertime was a delightful escape from the rituals of academia with lots of time to sleep late and do other things – or simply just do nothing.

I’ve been out of school a long time, but my annual calendar still seems to revolve around the “academic” year, with summers still spent relaxing and playing. As I enter into yet another year on this planet as my birthday approaches next week, I realize just how important it is to take time to simply relax and play. As a creative being, it is not only important to “play“– it is critical.

As I look back on the many years that have ticked by, I am profoundly grateful for the many blessings and people in my life who have made it a life well lived. My memory fails me at times but what I do consistently recall are all the little moments of laughter and levity. I have not amassed a fortune, but I have been very comfortable and never left wanting. But I realize that I have had a rich life indeed and the best times have always included experiences near and far with people who have entered into my life – sometimes for a moment – sometimes for the long haul.

I suppose you could say that my spirit has never aged and it is still as playful as it has always been. When I’m at my most creative, my spirit is shining through. It’s not hampered by self-doubts, fear or uncertainty. My spirit is forever curious and is always exploring. Rather than being fearful of what’s around the next corner, I am excited at the prospects of opening myself up to new ideas, places and people. It’s all those experiences and relationships that make up a life worth living.

So, as I face the start of another year, I look back at the smiles and laughs as well as the tears that I have encountered on my journey and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

June 22, 2014

What is Your Value as a Professional Photographer?

Let’s face it, these days, professional photographers aren’t only competing with other pros – they are competing with anyone and everyone with an iPhone. Before you get upset and kill the messenger – ask yourself “What is my value proposition?” What do you offer that your competition doesn’t’?

I started making a list of things that professional photographers could offer to boost their value to potential clients:

Skills – Do you have any unique skills that can set you apart from your competition? If you define yourself by a specialized piece of gear that’s new – keep in mind, you may have just 5 years or less before ‘everyone” has it.
Vision – Make sure your “vision” comes from you and isn’t just a copy of what’s “hot” or trendy at the moment.
Access – Do you have access that others don’t? I realized when I was shooting for National Geographic that I was given access to a lot of photo opportunities that others didn’t have. Sometimes these opportunities yield photo opps that are off limits to others and make some stand out portfolio samples.
Rapport – If you are working in video and part of your job is doing interviews, then having a good rapport with your subjects will give you results that only you will get. Good interviews are dependent on social chemistry.
Your audience or following – These days, even getting a commissioned assignment may be dependent on your own social media following. Advertisers want to capitalize on that if it’s the same target audience they are trying to reach.
Project management skills – Getting the shot is only one skill set that photographers need to compete. Clients expect you to manage the project from soup to nuts and deliver the goods. That could mean wrangling large crews, getting access or simply making sure that everything that needs to get done to complete a project – is done.
Sensitivity – Be sensitive not only to your clients’ needs and problems but to whomever you are working with. I know a very good photographer who began burning most of his bridges with his clients. He was more interested in getting his point across and making demands than he was listening to the needs of his clients.
Likeability – Similar to above. There are just too many photographers out there to choose from that if you aren’t likable – well – you may want to look for work that doesn’t require any social skills.

If all this sounds simple – it is. It’s applying it that’s the tough part. But if you do, you will set yourself apart from your competition.

Thinking of moving into motion? Check out The Craft and Commerce of Video and Motion

May 24, 2014May 24, 2014

Timing is Everything

NPPA_MultimediaImmersionWorkshop — © 2014 J.C. Carey

Have you ever looked back at your life and wondered “How would things have turned out differently if…..I hadn’t have moved to a new part of the country when I was 13 years old or if I had stayed at Syracuse University instead of leaving school after completing my sophomore year and traveling around the world? Or if I had taken the job at Boeing after graduating from Brooks Institute…..or if I hadn’t seen that article in Time Magazine about “Indie” media ventures, referencing the 1st Digital Video Symposium that was going to take place at the American Film Institute?” Every one of those events at pivotal points in my life, carved out my next “chapter “ – determining who I was going to be and where I was headed. Some of my life’s twists and turns, I had no control over – like moving from Rochester, NY to the greater NYC Metro area when I was barely a teenager. But there have been a lot more pages turned in my life since then, and along with that a whole lot of decisions to be made along the way. The best decisions I’ve made in my life happened when I was open minded to possibilities and I listened to my gut. Last week I coached at the NPPA’s Multimedia Immersion Workshop. It was a perfect example of peers helping peers and a wonderful collaboration between NPPA and ASMP, my trade association that I’m about to be President of next month. Even though these workshops are exhausting in every way, I get as much as I give on so many levels. Ultimately the workshop is about learning good solid video journalism storytelling, but the technical learning curve can be daunting to many coming from a still photographer background. Many of the students were totally green when it came to audio, movement, sequencing or the post-production editing process. Some became so overwhelmed by the gear that they lost focus of the most important part of the workshop – “the story”. It’s easy to lose sight of the “story”. At the workshop, Bruce Strong from Newhouse School of Journalism gave a talk about “Storytelling Basics”. He said something that really resonated with me “Ask the why behind the why. Look for the emotional core of the story”. I realized that I needed a reminder at this particular time in my life, as to what was the essence of a good story. I’m currently working on a documentary film about a family that has a deep and rich history. To be honest, I had been floundering on the story aspects of the film as I had begun to get lost in the details and facts. I had an epiphany as I listened to Bruce and realized that my job wasn’t to document the timeline of this family, that had already been done in written form – my job was to “tell a story”. That epiphany may sound obvious and simple, but sometimes I get blindsided by the daily consumption of life, and the “obvious” gets overlooked. But if I put myself in a different place, in body and mind, at a time in my life when I am open and receptive, the “right” path does become obvious. That path was there the entire time, but perhaps it wasn’t the right time for me. As Orson Welles once said “If you want a happy ending, than it depends on where you stop the story”.

April 28, 2014

10 Tips for Sustaining a Long Career as a Professional Photographer

Grow or die – My good friend and coach Ian Summers coined that phrase. He also taught me that growth requires a temporary surrender of security.

Be yourself – There’s a great quote – “be yourself because everyone else is taken” Many folks say that you need to have your own vision but I really don’t like this phrase because it is overused and is not really specific or clear – to the point that most of us get frustrated if we don’t feel we have “a vision”. Your gut will let you know when you’re “on purpose”.

Don’t operate in a vacuum – Photographers are independent creatures for the most part. Take joy in collaborating and/or networking. Expand your networks to include all types of folks – not just your fellow photographers. This is how and where ideas are born.

Don’t focus on the gear – I get weary of people asking me about my gear or the age old question “Does that camera take good pictures?” – to which I reply “It depends on the operator.”

Embrace failure – Or at least don’t let your fear of failure stop you. Try instead asking yourself “what’s the worst thing that could happen?” Let’s face it, we don’t do brain surgery, so for the most part, our fears don’t involve fatalities.

Do the work – I believe it was Malcolm Gladwell who said that it took 10,000 hours to get good at something. If you want to sustain a long career in any career, be prepared to do the work to get good at it.

Get rid of the resistance – It’s really easy to give yourself lots of seemingly logical reasons why NOT to do something. Try replacing your reasons NOT to do something, with why you SHOULD. Get rid of the people in your life that are giving you resistance – they’re poison. Read more about resistance in Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art.

Don’t set out to prove yourself – Instead strive to improve. This attitude is ultimately more beneficial and leads to better self esteem. It’s also not dependent on someone else’s validation or approval.

Enjoy the good times – but be prepared for the bad times. Nothing stays the same – ever. Don’t let those glory days mislead you or your ego. There are always competitors waiting in the wings.

Keep your passion and enthusiasm – If you don’t, you’ll never survive this business. And if you have to ask “should I be a professional photographer or practice law?” I would have to answer – “practice law”. If you have to ask that question, it’s an indication that the passion isn’t there.

If you are thinking of expanding your skills with video, check out my book “The Craft and Commerce of Video and Motion”

April 15, 2014

2014 NAB Wrap Up

Still photographers and motion shooters love to get a “first” look at “new gear”. Here are a few interesting items I saw last week at the NAB Show (National Association of Broadcasters):

Cameras

Black Magic Ursa A 4K camera at an affordable price (around $6,500) that will be shipping in July. They’re calling it the first user upgradable-camera because you can change the sensor and the lens mount. It looks like this will be a great camera for filmmaking and documentaries.
Sony A7s Sony’s latest mirrorless camera features a wide-dynamic-range sensor and amazing sensitivity. With this camera, Sony didn’t jump into the megapixel competition against other camera manufacturers, but instead concentrated on image quality at staggering ISO’s. I would use this camera more as a still camera, but it’s small and it also shoots 4Kvideo.
GoPro This company continues to innovate and make products that provide shooters with the tools that allow them to come up with incredibly creative solutions, especially in sports/action content.

Storage/Monitors

Atomos has created the Ninja Star, a tiny ProRes Recorder for theGoPro Hero 3 that has an HDMI-out port and allows you to loop the signal through the Ninja Star and out to a monitor for composition or review. Atomos also debuted their Shogun, a combination seven-inch monitor and recorder with 4K capability.
G-Speed Studio by G-Techology This product, a hardware RAID 4-Bay Thunderbolt 2 storage solution, won the “Best Storage of NAB 2014 Award.” The G-SPEED Studio is a storage device with room for four hard drives and is configurable to RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, or 10. You can bring the total storage up to 24TB; at a lesser amount, the sustained 660MB/s transfer rate will get your files going quick.

Sliders/Stabilizers/Helicopters

Kessler Unidrive This is a motion control system (slider) that’s automated to enhance your production values.
Shape ISEE 1 Camera Stabilizer for GoPro A very cool device to stabilize your action GoPRo footage. The SHAPE ISEE I is a handheld gimbal-based stabilizer for GoPro cameras and smartphones. The powered, self-calibrating ISEE I enables steady shots with the GoPro and features a joystick for up/down tilting of the camera.
DJI’s Phantom 2 Vision Plus with Gimbal and GPS The latest addition to DJI’s quadcopter lineup gives you stunning images at a super affordable price ($1,000, or $1,099 for a version with extra battery). The copter has a 1080P camera that supports Adobe DNG RAW, which is great for workflow. There are also features that allow you to stream video to your smartphone in real time and to synchronize your phone with the quadrocopter through WiFi up to 700 meters away.
Syrp Genie Time Lapse & Magic Carpet Slider This is a motion controller coupled with a simple slider that provides a relatively low-cost solution for great time-lapse photography.
GimbalGunner A new device designed for run-and-gun video shooting. It’s essentially a cross between a two-axis gimbal and shoulder-mounted rig.

Software

There were hundreds of booths demoing software, but perhaps the most impressive of the bunch for me was the iZotope RX 3 This audio postproduction software will take away your fears about working with sound. I saw a demo in which it fixed substantial audio issues with the push of a button. Technology continues to make our lives easier. There is an incredible deal on the software until May 1, with prices slashed from $749 to $249. I don’t advocate capturing bad audio, but you’ll want this repair tool if you do.

Lighting

Litepanels This company launched its new Hilio series, versatile panels that emit a raw, narrow beam that provides high-intensity light for long throws.

March 14, 2014

Commitment

Commitment is everything. It’s what makes us get things done. It’s what makes relationships work.

Gail in bamboo hut in hill tribe village, northern Thailand

It’s what makes us not give up, no matter how bleak it may look at times. It’s what gets us to stay focused on “the story” and be true to ourselves.

To some people, commitment can be frightening. Their heads are filled with negative “what if” thoughts of failure that hold them back. So, they plod along through life letting things happen to them instead of going after what they want. Those are the people who let resistance win.

I’ve always been a determined and committed person – if I say I’m going to do something, you can count on me to do it. It’s tough sometimes though, to stay committed to myself and to what my true purpose is – it’s far too easy to get caught up with the regular flow of work and life. But every now and then I get an idea for a creative project that just won’t go away. When I finally decide to stop ignoring the idea and do something, I have a mechanism I use to help me make the commitment – I tell someone about it. I’m the type of person that feels, once I’ve told someone I’m going to do something, then I have to do it – just to save face. I call it “forced accountability.”

Seth Godin writes today about commitment: “One way to play in the digital age is to appeal to those that browse, the window shoppers, the mass audience that can’t and won’t commit. The alternative is to focus on impact, not numbers and impact comes from commitment. “ He says: “ price is more than an exchange of coins. Price is a story.” Essentially, Godin is saying that in our noisy digital world, where ideas and content are free – we’ve got to be better, to make an impact. In order to connect with the buyers on an emotional level, we’ve got to be “better than free”.

Every commitment that I’ve ever made has come with tremendous personal growth. When I traveled around the world a couple of years ago making a feature length documentary, Opening Our Eyes, I not only challenged myself physically and creatively, but spiritually as well and I feel that I became a better person because of it. I would not have been able to endure the hardships of that journey, nor the intense workload of post production had I not been committed to the idea.

What are you willing to commit to? Commitment may be frightening, but without it, you may be spending your later years wondering, “what if I had”

January 28, 2014

What Happened to Professionalism – or Manners?

What does it mean to be a professional? Regardless of the business you’re in, a professional is someone who treats their clients and their vendors with respect. That means that everyone should be mindful of his or her manners. Yes, manners! That may sound old fashioned but being courteous to people never goes out of style.

Some things that define a “professional”:

Professionals know how to get the job done, on time and on schedule.
Professionals don’t learn on the job.
A professional should respect everyone on his or her team – EVERYONE plays a part that makes the whole stronger, even the “guy” who gets coffee.
A professional has good manners – that usually means treating people how they wish to be treated.
A professional understands that situations change. That means that the assistant you are dealing with at a magazine or ad agency may just be in a position to hire YOU some day. Don’t burn your bridges.
A professional has an understanding of their clients’ position. Understanding works both ways. Good clients who are professional will also have an understanding of what their “vendors” are up against.
Professionals understand that they don’t work in a vacuum – especially these days. Bad manners don’t stay isolated – they trickle down.
A professional doesn’t ignore people, especially people who they depend on. We are all busy and we all have only 24 hours in our day. That doesn’t give you a reason to ignore someone. Unfortunately, this happens all the time, but if you have asked someone to provide you with an estimate for a job that you need to produce and they take their time to provide you with one – give them the courtesy of letting them know if they didn’t get the job. Remember, they are helping you come up with figures you need to produce the job. If someone invests their time to do that, don’t you think they deserve to know the outcome?

Remember, we are all connected. We are all humans, with families, bills to pay, kids to put in college, parents who may be sick etc. etc. Regardless if we are the one who is dangling the proverbial carrot or on the receiving end of it – I think perhaps we should realize that respect and good manners is the hallmark of a professional.

January 20, 2014

Business Tips for Photographers in a Multi-Media World

In the blogging world of photography and motion, there is a lot written about gear and how to use it, but precious little written about “the business”. Chances are, if you are photographer who has been in business for more than 10 years, then you know that technology has not only changed our tools, it has changed the way we do business.

For starters, we are doing business in a global economy, and with that comes pluses and minuses. One big plus is that we are able to reach a much wider audience, than ever before. That is, if you have an understanding of how to do that and take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. The minus or downside is, if we don’t adapt our dated business models, in a business that has seen monumental changes, we will not be able to compete.

Commercial photographers are in the visual communications business. We create imagery that delivers a message or tells a story for a variety of “markets” including; advertising, corporate, architectural and editorial. Each market has a need for visual content and these days that encompasses both still photography and video. In the last couple of years, the lines dividing these two mediums have faded away, at least in terms of how content is consumed in our culture.

Here are a couple of tips to help photographers prosper in our “multi-media” world:

Decide what your company will offer. Will you only provide still imagery? Or will you expand your business and offer both still photography and video? Are you quick to answer: “I don’t want anything to do with video” ? The problem with that answer is that most of your clients will probably have a need for video. Are you going to send them away to your competition? Or will you keep your clients “in house” and take care of their video needs and hire or outsource your competition? That’s a different way of thinking and has the potential to broaden your revenue stream.
Decide what role you will play if your company does offer video? Will you be the director and work with a camera operator? Or will you assume the role of a DP (Director of Photography) and direct as well as operate the camera?
What will you outsource and what will you keep in house? Maybe you want to expand your business by offering both still photography and motion, but you’d prefer to just shoot the still photography and outsource the video. In that case, you could assume the role of producer and oversee or outsource the video production.
Reassess your insurance. Video productions have a lot more variables. They also usually have larger crews. More than likely, you will need to upgrade your current insurance policy to accommodate and cover that.
Change your paperwork. Make sure that you go through your talent and property releases and modify the language for multi-media. Change any boilerplate contract language to include video (motion).
Licensing. Regardless, if you decide not to expand into video production, you will have to contend with the fact that your still images won’t always be used in a stand-alone fashion. Many still images will be commissioned and/or licensed as part of multi-media projects and that has a dramatic effect on licensing. And if you do decide to expand into video production, in your role as a producer, you will be licensing other people’s work.
Understand new business models. Let’s face it, things have changed in the business of photography. Photography has become ubiquitous and the competition is fierce. You are not only competing with professional photographers – you’re competing with semi-pros, amateurs AND video production companies. One thing is certain, it’s never been more important to have an understanding of multiple mediums and to be unique and stand out amongst the noise. There are no templates you should follow. You have to be authentic and true to yourself.

Check out more tips and information in my ePub, The Craft and Commerce of Video and Motion.

January 13, 2014

10 Tips For Getting GOOD Audio When Using a DSLR

If you’re like most of the professional still photographers I know, you have either expanded your business and offer video (in addition to your still photography) to your clients, or have plans to. If you do have future plans to offer video to your clients, then you are either learning the particulars of that skill set, or you are collaborating with others who are in the know, or both.

Perhaps, one of the most daunting components of video, for still photographers is audio. Capturing audio is totally foreign to a still photographer, yet it is the most important component of all, in video production.

Here are a few tips for getting good audio:

You’ll never get good audio using the camera’s built in microphone, – at least not for interviews. Don’t turn the camera’s audio off however. You can use it later for reference audio when syncing sound later in post-production.
Use external microphones for capturing audio interviews. Ideally, you should record your interview audio using a digital recorder like the Samson Zoom H6 or the Tascam DR-60D with XLR connections. I usually place a “lav” microphone on my subjects. I will also use a shotgun microphone, mounted (with shock mount) on a boom pole that’s on a fixed stand. I rely on the microphone on the fixed stand, as opposed to hiring a boom operator, especially if I don’t have the budget for a big crew. If you should decide to use an amateur or assistant as a “boom operator”, rather than hire an experienced operator who knows how to capture “consistent” audio, you’ll most likely end up with poor audio captured at inconsistent levels. The shotgun microphone should be about 12-18 inches away from your subject. You can sync the sound with the video, later in post- production, using the software Plural Eyes.
Don’t cross your audio cords with your electrical cords. This causes a hum that you will detect if you are wearing headphones.
For run and gun” situations, you can probably get away with using a microphone mounted on the camera, as long as you are close to your audio source. You can either run a microphone (with a mini plug) directly to the camera OR you can run a microphone with an XLR adaptor through a pre-amp like a JuicedLink or a Beachtek, which will yield a cleaner audio capture. This works well for capturing ambient sound for b-roll or live action, and your audio will be recorded to the same card as your video. If you do want to capture your interview audio using a microphone mounted on the camera, make sure that you get your camera in close to your subject (not more than 18 inches away), and that you us a mixer or a pre-amp.
Microphones – Use an omni-directional or cardiod microphone when you are in a more controlled situation and you want your sound coming from more directions – like on a sound stage. “Lav” microphones can be used for interviews, either hard wired or with a wireless kit. Be careful when you attach it to your subject and position it to avoid any unnecessary noise coming from hair or jewelry rubbing up against it. A good camera mounted microphone is the Sennheiser MKE 400 (compact shotgun). For interviews I use my cardiod Sennheiser ME66 with K6 powering module.
Use a wireless system only when you NEED to. In cities like New York you can get a lot of interference on various frequencies. Always go wired when you can. A great and affordable hard-wired “lav”, is the SonyECM44B And if you find yourself needing a wireless system, spend the money to get a system that has a good range.
Use a good windscreen or “dead cat” when outside. Even if you’re inside, on a windy day, with windows open, you can pick up wind noise.
Use headphones. Don’t just look at your meters. Your meter may indicate that you are recording sound, but it may not be good sound – it could be you are picking up interference or getting distorted and clipped audio. Wear headphones and make sure that you are getting quality sound.
Always consider that you will be using the audio – even for your b-roll. You will need clean usable audio for b-roll, even if it’s only intended as ambient, background sound.
Pay attention to audio. Start by letting your ears do more of the work. Every room and situation has its own sound. Listen up. Be quiet and tell your crew to be quiet as well. You never know when you’ll want to use the audio – even if you think you won’t need it.

You can read more about what I brought with me in the way of gear, when I literally circled the globe, creating my first feature length film. The film is now available on DVD.

If you’d like to know more about “moving into motion”, check out my book, The Craft and Commerce of Motion and Video.

January 6, 2014

Letting Go

This past weekend our film, Opening Our Eyes, had its premiere in New York City. We have been in dozens of film festivals and events all over the world but for whatever insignificant reasons, we had never screened in New York. I think of NYC as my “hometown”, even though I have never lived inside “the city”. It’s where many of our friends, clients and colleagues are and it has been our “home base” for over 35 years.

Despite the fact that the temperatures were in the single digits and there had been a major snowstorm the night before, so many of our oldest and dearest friends, along with some new ones, showed up. Even Nisha, a young Nepalese girl who is in the movie – came out on that cold night. I have been in front of many audiences over the years and have enjoyed it immensely, but I can honestly say that this was the most meaningful experience I’ve ever had. To be able to share my film – a body of work that I put a lot of hard work, heart and soul into – with my peers and people I’ve known since my beginnings, was pure joy.

In a way, the night brought things full circle in regards to the film. A lot of filmmakers “open” or premiere in their hometowns. Once again, I did things a little backwards, by “closing” in my home turf, as this may be the film’s last festival screening. I don’t have plans to pursue more festivals – but I never know what’s lies ahead, in the way of opportunities, and am open to possibilities. This project and this journey have rewarded me in hundreds of ways and no doubt will continue to enrich my life. The film will still be available for screenings at educational venues and community events. It’s also available on DVD and streaming. My daughter, Erin and I made this film to inspire and motivate others to create positive change in our world, and we hope that message continues to spread globally.

A young filmmaker I met at one of the festivals I attended told me, “a filmmaker never finishes a film – he(she) just knows when to let go.” I am able to “let go”, because I know that this experience has set the stage for the next events in my life.

“Everyone has Oceans to fly, if they have the Heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?”

– Amelia Earhart